Catholics' lawsuit against Obama is blind to current contraceptive coverage

The Catholic bishops are out to hammer a political point: They’ve coordinated a blitz of lawsuits against the Obama administration after rejecting its compromise that would have insurance companies — not Catholic employers — pay for birth control coverage.

Some leading Catholic organizations, including the most influential group of American nuns, were willing to accept the compromise, but the bishops won’t budge. They still want final say over how employees use their health benefits, even though their institutions don’t have that kind of veto power over other things, such as salary or sick leave.

In seeking that control, they’ve continued to portray this as an attack on religious liberty. And in a disappointing reversal, the University of Notre Dame caved to their message, agreeing to be the biggest-name plaintiff — just months after praising President Obama for pledging to find a way to soften the mandate for religious groups.

This lawsuit is about “the freedom of a religious organization to live its mission,” its president, the Rev. John Jenkins, now says.

Yet as he surely knows, the mandate isn’t new. Twenty-eight states have laws requiring insurers to cover birth control to the same extent as other medications. In New Jersey, state law already requires Catholic colleges and universities to provide health coverage for contraceptives. None of that has ever prevented the church from carrying out its mission. So why, in the midst of an election year, are the bishops kicking up such a fight?

Their outrage would appear less partisan if they showed any similar level of concern for other Catholic teachings — such as preventing poverty or war. A Democratic lawmaker had to directly ask the bishops whether they supported Republican Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget, which gutted services for the needy, before they finally came out against it. Weeks later. And with nowhere near this degree of effort.

Notre Dame’s president is right on one point: This goes beyond contraceptives. Imagine if a Christian Science group gained similar prominence and decided to run schools and nonprofits. If it had a moral objection to vaccinations, could it refuse to allow any health coverage for them, too?

It sets a dangerous precedent. This is about the liberty of individuals, not institutions, to follow their conscience and make their own health choices. There are plenty of real attacks on religious liberty around the world, so why choose birth control as the moral priority for Catholics today? It speaks to a political agenda, not a pastoral one.